🌱 Randall's Island 'Tent City' Opening + New NY Governor's Race Polls

Good morning, New York City!

• NYC's 'tent city' on Randall's Island opens today.
• A trap in Brooklyn meant to catch spotted lantern flies had unintended consequences.
• Two new COVID-19 variants are on the rise in New York.

But first, today's weather:

Times of clouds and sun. High: 53 Low: 41.

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Here are the top five stories today in New York City:

1. New York City's new migrant "tent city" on Randall's Island is expected to open today. Members of the press toured the massive facility on Tuesday, which recently-arrived asylum seekers are expected to spend under a week in. (AMNY)
2. A glue trap wrapped around a tree trunk at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was supposed to capture invasive spotted lantern flies. Instead, it killed a woodpecker that inadvertently got caught by it, despite an artist's attempt at bringing it to a bird rehabilitation center. The traps are no longer being used, the NYC Economic Development Corporation said. (New York City Patch)
3. A French cement firm admitted to shelling out millions to the Islamic State to keep a plant in Syria running while the country was engulfed in a horrific civil war, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced Tuesday. The company, Lafarge, must now pay $778 million in penalties. (New York City Patch)
4. With Election Day only three weeks away, two separate polls show Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's lead over her Republican opponent Congressman Lee Zeldin growing smaller. A Siena College poll gives her an 11-point lead, while another from Quinnipiac University has it at just four points. (Politics NY)
   • Looking for additional elections' coverage? THE CITY has an interactive tool that allows you to test out different voting scenarios in the governor's race. (THE CITY)
5. Two new COVID-19 variants of omicron, which are more evasive to vaccines, are spreading in the New York area at double their rate in the United States overall. So far there has not been a large uptick in cases or hospitalizations caused by COVID-19. (NBC New York)

New York City pic of the day:

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Today in New York City:

• The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan Presents Broadway’s Best for Parkinson’s (5 p.m.)
• Hudson River Community Sailing's 13th Annual Sailing for Scholars Gala and Regatta (6 p.m.)
• Baryshnikov Arts Center Presents The Westerlies in "Taking Shape" (7:30 p.m.)
• Latin Nights at Gansevoort Rooftop (7:30 p.m.)

Crime and safety corner:

• An Astoria dry cleaners reached a $90,000 settlement for stealing its workers' wages, according to state prosecutors. (New York City Patch)
• A huge fire broke out in an industrial Long Island City building early Tuesday morning, injuring two firefighters. (New York City Patch)

From my notebook:

• What's a MTA bus doing in Chicago, an eager Reddit user asked yesterday. Spoiler: no, the agency isn't expanding its service to The Windy City. (New York City Patch)
• "The Late Late Show" host James Corden was (temporarily) banned from a swanky Soho restaurant. (New York City Patch)
• Jimmy McMillan, the New Yorker who 12 years ago coined the phrase 'the rent is too damn high,' is now fighting to hold on to his own apartment. (City Limits)
• Meet Mark, the 3-and-a-half-year-old Upper West Sider who's on a mission to ride on every New York City subway train. (New York City Patch)
• The workers at a fancy luxury apartment building in Tribeca are on strike, alleging that the building’s property manager won't bargain with their union. (Gothamist)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Wednesday off right! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with a new update.

— Dashiell Allen

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming New York City Daily? Contact me at patchnyc@patch.com